Decorated Love Bird Cookies

You might have noticed by now that I have a long running love affair with bluebirds. Somehow, I end up making a variation of them every single year. I’d almost decided to take a break, but when I discovered these adorable illustrations by Cookies With Character, I knew they’d be happening soon.

Krista’s latest artistic venture, Drawn with Character, takes cookie decorating to a whole new level. Specializing in clip art designed with the cookie decorator in mind, you can purchase a pre-drawn image {often the most time consuming part of cookie decorating} for a small fee. All you’ve got to do is pipe.

Although the convenience of a ready-to-pipe design is well worth the cost, once a week Krista is offering something even better than that! This adorable template is actually part of the Friday Freebie collection {we can pretend it’s Friday} offered weekly on her blog.

You can get these “tweeties” by clicking here.What I love most is how versatile the designs are. I was able to use the same image to produce three different cookies…my “pet” design being lovebirds made with a mustache cutter.

For uniform cookies use a food-safe marker to draw a piping guideline before you begin.

Outline the cookie as pictured below.

Next, flood the cookie in alternating sections. Give the first section a bit of time to dry before filling the second one to create a dimensional look.

While it’s perfectly okay to wing it {pun intended}, I used my Kopykake to project Krista’s design onto the dried base. I had to adjust it a little as I worked to make sure everything was in the right place, but the decorating process took almost no time at all.

Begin by piping eyes, beaks, and wings with a small tip, such as a #1.5 or #2. Then, use a star tip to add a sprig of hair on top and that’s all there is to it.

Here’s the progression from clip art to cookie, beginning with a butterfly cookie {cutter can be purchased individually found in this set} as the base.

Start with a flooded cookie that is completely dry. Project and position the image, fill the larger areas in sections with 20-second icing, and pipe the details with a #1.5 tip. Don’t be afraid to add your own special touches

Alternatively, you can outline and fill if your more comfortable with this technique.

I think my favorite cookie ended up being the half-version I piped on a round.

I love how the designs compliment one another. No matter what your decorating style, Krista’s illustrations make putting together a coordinated platters easy and fun.For more lovebird madness, be sure to check out these links:

Your cute little blue birds is what got me decorating over a year ago!! Now this!!!!!! I’m even more in love with them now 🙂

Gosh golly! The colors are perfect and I love the feather tufts on the birdies heads! Sooooo darn cute!

Hi Callye! Adorable cookie design! I think my favorite is the butterfly shape. I always look forward to your next cookie decorating creation! You have the best ideas. And talent that always amazes me. You make each of your tutorials easy to understand with so many helpful tips. Thanks for the inspiration. Pinned many of your cookies here…http://www.pinterest.com/dorana1/the-art-of-cookie-decorating/

Callye,
These are “over the top” adorable!! I LOVE all of them! Thanks to Krista for the freebie! As I commented to Krista – I only wish I had a fraction of your creativity! You help out those of us who lack that creativity tremendously! Thank you, again. 🙂

You are just so CREATIVE!!! I am in love with your cookie abilities!!!

As you know I just love blue and I always look forward to seeing your blue birds. From cookies to almonds you always have a unique way of transforming them. Thank you for showing us how you can take clip art and use it as is but also use it to customize a design. Love the use of the mustache cutter. They are perfect! Thank you Krista for the clipart. It’s so cute!

These are darling!! Thanks for sharing, Krista, and for the great instructions, Callye!

I love looking at all your designs. I’m not a cookie decorator at all. I paint, scrapbook, paper crafter, etc. Question: What do you o with all the cookies you make? My family would get real tired of eating them all the time. Just curious.

I get that question a LOT. I give most of them away. If someone requests something inspiring and I feel okay, I try to make them…but most of the time if it’s something random I send them to church, my MIL’s office, to the school, or my parents/brothers/family. My dad’s dog is pretty fond of stale cookies too! Sometimes I give them away to deserving people or mail them out as RAKs…I also bombard my poor neighbors who also give them out at school, work, etc.

Just yesterday I sent a door to door salesman away with a gallon baggie full. It seemed to ease the pain of me not buying a vacuum, lol! The good thing about cookies is that it’s usually not hard to talk SOMEONE into taking them off your hands 🙂

Sugarbelle, my oldest son asked me ‘when am I going to make ‘real’ cookies….he means chocolate chip…that was my clue to start dropping them off at the fire station or take them to the Veteran’s Hospital….they never tire of the cookies! 🙂

Your birdies were one of the first decorated cookies I fell in love with and these versions are just as sweet! LOVE that you used a mustache cutter for the twin birds! 🙂

Thanks for sharing. So cute!!! Love all your designs and I so appreciate your creativity.

Callye
You are Absolutely Fantastic!!!
You made a perfect combination of the design and the butterfly cutter!!!!!!! And the cookie of mustache shape is Awesome!!
** Krista’s Designs are Amazing!! Congrats!!
Big hug !
Paula

These lovebird cookies are so beautiful!! And Krista’s templates are really cute 🙂

Very adorable!

Sugarbelle…tried my hand on these cookies. You will be amused by this story. Made 18 cookies. All was going great….until….I went to do the detail. I decided to use my new kopykake projector for the first time….I am whipping through thinking this is great….when I realized the first 10 cookies I had detailed UPSIDE DOWN …..I can’t quit laughing at myself…. Normally I would be devastated after so many hours of hard work…but there were tons of lessons to be learned in this project. Just glad I caught it when I did.

I love this tutorial I love cookies and birds. I have two parakeets and getting a 3rd one in April. Thank you for the link to the site to where you get your cookie cutters! I can’t wait to make these cookies. They are to cute.